The Differences Between PRT and Body Rolling: Part Two

The Differences Between PRT and Body Rolling: Part Two

By Ashley Osier

MA, HHE, CPS, CSMT, CAMT, CAYT, CWHP

 It brings me great joy to live in a body that is fifteen years older and no longer limited 

by moment-to-moment pain.

As I consider contrasting Body Rolling with the Point Release™ Technique, it would be a normal temptation to try and discount one to highlight the other. Since this is not my intention and there is good information to share for both, my hope is that each reader will walk away well informed enough to be smart with their own body. Initially I set out to give a simple highlight on the differences, but after more investigation I found that Body Rolling has expanded, so I want to give credit where it is due. 

Body Rolling, or Yamuna Body Rolling®, focuses on structural problems and "everywhere you have muscle connecting from one place to another." Yamuna, a bodyworker and yoga teacher took her own injuries and experience with structural bodywork and created a big soft ball to assist her with clients re-aligning themselves during her sessions. On her website it states: The ball becomes the hands of the therapist and the person’s weight creates the traction, movement and release on the ball. The result is what she calls YAMUNA® BODY ROLLING. This is a very powerful self -fixing and maintaining tool that everyone can do regardless of his age or physical limitations. YBR® (the name commonly used) organizes the body bringing all the parts back to working the way they should and can be. 

Yamuna has done a lot of work, teaching group classes and developing two other balls for the face and for those who want deeper pressure on the muscles. She seems authentically devoted to supporting her clients and students in having a healthy body at every age and I appreciate her approach to a fitness program that is completely different from mainstream fitness. The fact that Body Rolling is being accepted and written up, along with the popular foam roller and now the new Melt Method, shows me that there is a need and that people are benefitting from working on themselves. I am excited to share how the Point Release™ Technique can meet the needs of those who want a more core point-focused approach from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective. But before I get to the similarities and differences, I want to highlight the rich history of PRT. 

Though the beginning of this technique came before I started acupressure school in 1996, I am not the only one who has recognized the therapeutic benefits of self-acupressure. Acupressure is a term used to describe hands-on methods by trained acupressure therapists focusing on "pressure points" accessed along the energy pathways in the Traditional Chinese Medicine system. In acupuncture these points are the size of the side edge of the tip of my fingernail. In acupressure school, we would use the size of a quarter. So one needs to be careful to differentiate the points of acupressure with other "points" as acupressure is a part of a medical system requiring training in more than just the muscles. One of my students who learned shiatsu in Japan, for example, had studied for four years and practiced in a local hospital alongside doctors. Her knowledge of these points, or tsubos, in shiatsu terms, and their therapeutic benefits was extensive to say the least.

Acupressure was made popular in the United States by Michael Reed Gach who has written numerous books and videos detailing the benefits of self-acupressure including "Acupressure's Potent Points" and "Acu-Yoga" and comes from a long tradition in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Michael often stimulated acu-points and traced meridians while practicing a yoga posture and I found it to be revolutionary. In studying with Michael, having him oversee me with my teacher training, and teaching at his school, I was sold on the potency of self-acupressure. 

PRT can also be traced to Marc Caseo's book "Acupressure Warm-Up," using a tennis ball on acupuncture points. I found his book to be the closest to my ideas with PRT and am thrilled that his work has been recognized as a successful approach to working with athletes and chronic pain sufferers. 

Tools have been used for many years on points and reflexes with the Japanese foot massage "Zoku Shin Do" to the "Knobble," and the paired balls called "Bongers." Magnets are used on acupuncture points, fingers, thumbs, knuckles and elbows are used, and even non-transdermal glutathione patches are being used on specific acupuncture points therapeutically. Balls are not new and tennis balls are very convenient, don't need to be purchased online, and oftentimes they come in packages of three or more for people to put in multiple places. 

So getting to the right point is the point and with a long history of documentation using acupuncture points, or tsubos, therapeutically, the Point Release™ Technique has a solid history giving it credibility. 

Similarities and Differences

Created out of Injury and Personal Experience

I created the Point Release™ Technique  out of having to resolve my own chronic pain and restore my function from various injuries instead of chosing pain medications and surgery. I first experienced the therapeutic benefits of the points when I injured my back in 1992. At that time I was only 24 and as active and fit as I was, I couldn't make sense of being in so much pain. Very little worked, but after a year and a half I found a massage tool called "Knobble." I would lie on my back and angle my body so that the pointer would press into specific points on my low, middle and upper back. It was amazing how well it worked and with continued practice, the pain and stiffness was resolved and my function restored. After becoming an acupressure therapist and using a tennis ball on additional injuries sustained, I realized it wasn't so much the pressure but the key points accessed that gave me the results from using the Knobble. The point precision was exactly what I needed to get to the core issue. I did try various sized balls, but none gave me the control, precision and comfort as when I used the tennis ball. My muscles were so locked up that I couldn't actually roll on them without going into spasm, so Body Rolling or using a foam roller was not a realistic option for me. Getting right to those key points many times was like an instant release button to the pathways, attachments and associated muscles without actually having to spend extended time on the muscles themselves. It was fantastic! Eventually, the tenderness of the points became the "ahh" of my day, always resulting in a smile of satisfaction. 

The difference between the two, is that PRT was not designed to change structural imbalances. I actually found that when I tried to roll out my spasming muscles, it threw my structure out further. So I would be cautious in recommending my clients or students to work on changing their own structural problems. Additionally, I have found that if I work on a muscle that is symptomatic, I can make matters worse by causing inflammation. It is important to know your body well enough to determine if there is inflammation or injury to the actual muscle before trying to roll it out, which brings blood and heat to the area and can cause more inflammation or irritation. Using the acupressure points is safe. Fortifying the point itself only benefits the rest of the body. For example, if a muscle is inflamed, one could ice the big muscle and use PRT on the key point for maximum benefits. 

Points and Muscles

The major difference between the two approaches, and I can include the use of the foam roller and the Melt Method, is that PRT focuses on acupuncture points. Here one of my students is accessing TW15 at the advanced level of pressure (level 3). A different sized ball or foam roller is not going to access this point in any way. All PRT points are accessed by some form of angling into, over or under key points. Each person will be able to feel for and identify where the PRT points are on their body and angle their body into them with the desired pressure and application technique signature to the Point Release™ Technique.



LI11 (at the crease where the forearm meets the elbow) is another example of a key point that should be opened as a routine for anyone who uses the computer every day, has chronic tendonitis and for my tennis players and golfers. The point itself, in acupressure terms, is no bigger than a size of a quarter, so again, the Body Rolling ball will be too big and the foam roller will only roll over the muscle. So this point would never be accessed. Notice how I have turned my hand so that the ball angles into LI11. The cross-fiber technique stimulates the point and breaks up congestion at that micro level. The application is very subtle, body awareness is heightened, and the benefits are significant.

St6 is a jaw releasing point and is therapeutically used for resolving TMJ symptoms, tension from grinding and clenching.  SI19 or St7 are excellent points in opening the mandible for singers. Oftentimes when I work on these jaw points with my clients, their neck is released due to the shared meridian pathways that go from the jaw through the neck. This is one good example of the TCM points and meridians in action and makes the Point Release™ Technique different from Body Rolling.

Using the Ball Anywhere

Another similarity is that the Point Release™ Technique can be used anywhere. The tennis ball is the perfect size to fit in my bag or backpack, fanny pack, jacket pocket, running or cycling pockets, and the like. I can access many of the key PRT points when I am driving, traveling on a plane, working at a desk, sleeping, eating at the dinner table, playing with my baby on the floor, stretching, sitting in one of my classes at school, soaking in the bathtub or jacuzzi, even in the hot and wet spa. The tennis ball is heat resistant and water proof and so are the key points in PRT! I encourage all of my clients and students to do the same and am greatly encouraged by how adaptable and easy PRT is to use everywhere. I even use it when I am camping. Now I can actually sleep in a sleeping bag on the ground whereas before I had to sleep in a hotel or on an air mattress. The freedom is awesome. 

The difference between the two is that since Body Rolling focuses on re-aligning the structure, most of the work is done lying down. The Point Release™ Technique can be done sitting, standing, and lying down as well as in hot or cold temperatures and in the water. All one needs is a surface to resist against and allows for angling into the key points of PRT with signature applications. 

Another notable difference is the requirement of balancing the body while using the ball. With PRT you can modify the positions to fit your needs for depth of pressure and fitness ability. Some of my clients and students cannot balance their body or even bend their knees. So positions must be modified for the key points to still be accessed. With a bigger ball that requires rolling, one would need to balance their bodyweight on the ball. If there is not enough core stability and strength, muscle strain can occur, at least for some of the clients and students I work with. PRT allows each person to work at their level of core strength and slowly build up. 

Areas of the Body

Both approaches include the entire body, Body Rolling from a structural and muscle-focused perspective and PRT from a TCM point-focused perspective. The Point Release™ Technique has been put together in Upper, Middle and Lower Body Routines with associated key points that I found to be tender and blocked a great deal of the time for myself and with my clients, students, family, friends, and anyone who would let me use them as a test subject. In addition to the three routines, there are three levels of pressure for each point so that people can access the points with light, medium or deep pressure. The angle of the ball also changes the depth of pressure and is a signature feature to PRT. 

Here I am angling into UB47 at the Basic Level (level1), a key point in relieving low back pain. This PRT point is a part of the Middle Body Routine and can be accessed lying down, in the car, on a plane, in the sauna and while in bed. For people who are ill and bed-ridden, using this PRT point is wonderful in renewing energy, decreasing stiffness and improving overall circulation.

A noted difference is that with Body Rolling, the areas go "everywhere you have muscle connecting from one place to another" and with PRT it has to do with the TCM upper, middle and lower burners, the meridians along those burners and the points along those meridians. The points are bilateral, so both sides of the body are worked, but not necessarily. With advanced awareness of PRT and regular practice, more application techniques are possible to drain excess, energize depletion, release blocks and open energy pathways. So bilateral work would not be necessary all the time. 

Time Factor 

Both PRT and Body Rolling can be done for an extended time, however, many times a key PRT point can be accessed and opened within a few minutes, resulting in decreased pain, greater flexibility and movement and improved function.  With two young children, my own business and school, I have to use my time efficiently. I believe with Body Rolling more time is required in working with structural changes and with releasing tight muscles, but I am not certain. 

Sleeping with the ball is a great way to work on your points and meridians for longer periods of time. You will be amazed at how you feel when you wake up and learning to sleep with ball so that it stays on the points is a lot easier than you think. Sp10 in the photo is a key PRT point that assists with knee pain and hip tension. Anyone who is a side sleeper, including pregnant women in the second or third trimester would greatly benefit from taking advantage of the increased therapeutic time factor here.

Unresolved injuries, though, old injuries with scar tissue, some chronic pain issues, disabilities and illnesses that include multiple symptoms definitely require time, patience, and persistence. It took me several years to recover after the second injury to my back and three years with my frozen shoulders, tendonitis and carpal tunnel in both arms. But the time I put in was worth not having surgery or taking pain medications and muscle relaxers. Having the option to take the tennis ball wherever I went and access the PRT points was critical to my recovery.

Body Awareness

From what I have read with Body Rolling, it is Yamuna's intention is to increase body awareness, at least at a muscular and structural level. Body awareness plays a vital role in properly caring for the one and only temple we have been given. With PRT, when you get on the key points and realize how tender they all are on your body, your awareness of body is completely transformed. Most people walk around locked up, blocked, tense, deficient, weakened, stagnant, injured, stiff and in a holding pattern without ever realizing it until something goes out or is drastically compromised. Most of my clients and students once introduced to the PRT points take on a more serious, committed and compassionate perspective of their body. Posture, movement, flexibility, core strength, wellness, micro-attachments, and the like no longer sit in the back seat. When they fall back into forgetting, once they get on the PRT points, they are quickly reminded of the power of these points. When I teach the Point Release™ Technique, an awareness of posture plays a vital role in keeping the points and pathways open. When we slump in our every day routine, our body gets stiff. The same principle applies. Open and lengthened posture equals open points and lengthened pathways in the body.

GB29 (as seen in the photo) is a powerful point for releasing hip tension, stiffness and pain. The Advanced Level (level 3) displayed in the photo was created specifically for one of my dancers who had a deep hip issue. She was so flexible and lean that the only way to get to this point, for her, was to create a body posture that would open her hip to more deeply get to this key point. So this application position would not be possible for most people. Often, people will work at the Basic and Intermediate Levels, but those who prefer deeper work, who get acupressure, acupuncture, or shiatsu, or who have been practicing PRT for some time will also include the Advanced Level. The signature application techniques of correct posture, holding, angling, cross-fiber, walking, circling and shifting of bodyweight will also increase body awareness and depth of pressure. 

With increased body awareness, receiving bodywork becomes more productive for clients. They begin to learn which PRT points need attention and they are able to better communicate what is needed with their bodyworker. All bodyworkers will benefit from practicing the Point Release™ Technique and encourage their clients to do the same. Yoga teachers who learn PRT can integrate it into the beginning of their classes and will notice the numbers of injured students decrease as well as noticing how range of movement and function during classes is increased. I use it in my Therapeutic Stretching classes for students who have chronic pain and are dealing with some kind of mobility and balance issue from an illness or injury. Athletic trainers would benefit from utilizing PRT with their athletes to increase an athletes' body awareness as well as the trainer's awareness and understanding of their athlete. 

Using a Ball During Sessions with Clients

Similar to Body Rolling, I have used a ball during sessions with clients, but it is just one style I draw upon. When I do use it, the difference is that the ball is used to access one point while I am working on opening other points. The technique is what I would call a Jin Shin or Jumper Cables approach, where you have a base point and then moving points. For example, to open the hips, I would place the tennis ball at St31 while the client is prone and utilize trager rocking, yin tui na or tsubo therapy at B47 and 48, GB 29 and 30, and sacral release points. There is no structural alignment or focus on muscular release when using the tennis ball. It is all acupuncture point-focused and therapeutic in nature. 

St40 and GB36 are points on the outside of the leg between the knee and the ankle. Aside from assisting knee and ankle issues, it drains excess in the hip, supports healthy stomach and gall bladder function, helps the calf to stay open, and decreases sciatica pain, to name a few. I recommend the Lower Body Routine to anyone who sits for long periods of time and all of my athletes who need leg power and resiliency.

In 1999, when I started recommending it to clients and began teaching it, I noticed a marked difference in those clients who used the tennis ball on the PRT points prior to a session as opposed to those who did not. Their body was more receptive to the bodywork and I could go deeper and do more in the same amount of time. Not only were they less symptomatic and more functional in their daily life, but it maximized my skills, better served their wellness, and was a smarter way to spend their money. So I usually recommend clients use PRT in between sessions to maximize the progress of their sessions with me when they are on my table. 

Last Thoughts…

As I continued to spend extra time on this article, I found myself noticing other similarities and differences, so the article could go on. But I think what I have presented provides enough information for readers to look at the different approaches available and see what best fits their needs. In addition to Body Rolling, the foam roller, and the Melt Method, there are people posting information, videos and offering therapy with a ball for trigger points and myofascial release. Again, these are muscle-focused approaches, which is another opportunity to work on the muscles. Taking care of your body to prevent injuries, increase blood flow, decrease tightness and improve mobility are all important for everyone. Trying to re-align your structure may not be in your best interest as you could throw yourself out of alignment. Working just on the muscle, especially if the muscle is inflamed, could injure the muscle more, so you want to know your body and know the difference between tension, stiffness and inflammation. 

The Point Release™ Technique does impact each of these areas but from a TCM point and meridian approach. There are specific application techniques, body routines and basic, intermediate and advanced levels of pressure. So getting on any point may feel good, but accessing the PRT points is therapeutic and results in a transformation of your body that will last.  The Point Release™ Technique is not a muscle-focused approach nor does it focus on re-aligning one's structure. It is very safe and by working on key PRT points, you will only encourage the body to be healthy and open. If you have muscles that are inflamed, you can ice while you access PRT points. If you are stiff, you can gently stretch while angling into a PRT point. And if you are tense, you can sleep on a PRT point and wake up in a better place, at least physically, and people usually are more mentally refreshed when their body feels great. So for those who are interested in the benefits of self-acupressure, this technique may be the one that points you to all the right points.

The proper posture in this photo with my students is a signature application with the Point Release™ Technique. Their hips are balanced, their knees are supporting their weight and they have minimal torque in their torso. This allows the point to be fully accessed by the body relaxing into the point. Extending the arm up lengthens the pathway and adding other application techniques impacts the point at an advanced level.

Ashley Osier is a holistic health educator and therapist, stress management therapist, an acupressure and massage therapist, stretching, massage, acupressure, and self-acupressure instructor and creator of the Point Release™ Technique and StretchFit™ Method. She specializes in working with stress management, injury prevention and pain relief, therapeutic stretching for individuals and couples, and posture awareness. She also offers coaching in nutrition and support for women going through divorce. She can be reached at ewsomatherapy@gmail.com.